Stranger
by Sable Supernova
Summary: As a child, Rose thought she had a Guardian Angel. Sometimes, the fable is better than the fact. One-Shot.


Written for The Weird Prompt Strikes Back, for the prompt (dialogue) "I don't even know you."

Words: 1290

* * *

 **Stranger**

"Come with me," he said, his eyes speaking of urgency as he grabbed her arm, his rough ageing skin at a stark contrast with her youthful, pale flesh.

"I don't even know you," she replied, cautious, attempting to back away.

"You've always known me," he replied. Her eyes widened in surprise as she considered him. Was this her Guardian Angel, come to life?

* * *

 _A young girl played on the park alone. She'd been with her brother, but he'd grown bored and tired. He'd headed inside for a snack, but Rose had stayed outside. She was on the swing, and she was determined to reach the sky. She imagined that when she got high enough, she'd be able to reach out and touch it, feel it. She wanted to know what the sky felt like on her finger tips._

 _She swung with all her might, crawling higher and higher with every stroke. When she felt high enough, she reached out, fingertips outstretched. She leaned forward on her seat, confident that she was safe, until she wobbled. A moment of panic overtook her before she fell. Except, she didn't fall. She glided down, gracefully, hitting the floor like a baby being put down to sleep. She hadn't done it, she knew she hadn't. She looked around for her savior, seeing nothing but a shadow in a cloak, hidden in the trees, and heard the crack as they apparated away._

 _"Thank you," she whispered to thin air._

* * *

"It's about to get really dangerous here. You might die. Come with me," the man pleaded.

Rose stared, saying nothing, noting something oddly familiar about his eyes.

* * *

 _A nine year old girl didn't look before stepping out into the road to greet her friend on the other side. She was smiling, laughing, and the bus driver did not see her. All of a sudden, an invisible force pushed her backwards, winding her as she fell to the ground. The bus passed less than a meter in front of her. Rose lay there in shock and wondered if guardian angels really were real._

* * *

 _At thirteen, Rose was sick of bullies. She'd found it hard enough to make friends as it was, but now, they avoided spending time with her less they got caught up in the trouble. Even her brother didn't treat her like he used to._

 _She was sick of it all. She was sick of the midnight tears, of keeping her head down. She was sick of being unable to do anything right. Standing at the top of the Astronomy Tower, she stood on the windowsill and looked down. It was a long way. She realised then how stupid it was to have a window so high up without bars or glass. Of course, they probably assumed everyone was happy at Hogwarts. How could they not be? A school of magic was the happiest place on earth. Yeah, right._

 _She put a foot out, testing it. It would be so easy. There would be a glorious freefall, and she'd hit the bottom and know no more._

 _She just had to take the next step._

 _"Rose?" came a voice from behind her. She pretended she'd imagined it until arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her backwards. She'd been so peaceful and serene, but this presence was panicked and racing. She looked up into Scorpius Malfoy's face and was jolted back to reality._

 _"I got a note telling me to come here and find you. It told me to be quick. I'm glad I was. Why didn't you talk to me?" he demanded._

 _Rose didn't know what to say._

 _"Who left the note?" she asked._

 _"It didn't say. That's hardly what's important right now!" he argued._

 _Rose smiled. "My guardian angel. Only, he can't save me this time. He can't save me from myself."_

 _"Rose, what are you talking about? Come on, we need to get you to the Hospital Wing."_

* * *

"Why should I go? What's going to happen? Why do I get to be saved? What about everyone else?" Rose asked. Questions and ideas raced around in her mind. She didn't understand.

"There's no time for this, dammit! We need to apparate! I'm saving you because I made a promise, okay? Now hurry the fuck up!" he argued. Rose stared at him, trying to work everything out, and noticed something unnatural about him.

"You're using Polyjuice." She laughed. "After all these years, you finally show yourself to me, and you still can't. This is ridiculous."

"If you knew who I was, it would change everything," he told her.

Something clicked, a hint of recognition. Something she didn't want to know. She stopped asking questions and allowed him to lead her away.

* * *

 _A heavily pregnant woman stood in a dark office, waiting. Tears fell from her brown eyes as she raced a hand through her bushy hair. She stared at the clock. When the door opened, she breathed in, steeling herself._

 _"Hermione," he said, emotionless, as he walked in._

 _"Draco, I need to talk to you."_

 _"Funny, the last time we talked you said you never wanted to speak to me again."_

 _She closed her eyes. She needed all the strength she could muster. She had to speak now, before the baby was born. He needed to know._

 _"I know. This is important."_

 _He sat behind his desk and watched her with pursed lips._

 _"The baby," she began. "It's going to be born soon, and I needed you to know... It's yours," she told him. His mouth dropped open in shock. His own wife had only given birth a month ago. He didn't know what to say._

 _"Why are you telling me?" he asked._

 _"Because you should know. Because mistakes have consequences. Because the secret is eating away at me, and I needed to tell someone."_

 _Tears glistened in his own eyes._

 _"I can't be a father for it," he told her._

 _She nodded. "I know. It's a girl."_

 _"Don't tell me."_

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _Silence descended, only broken by the ticking of the clock._

 _"Draco, I might not always be around to protect her. I need you to promise... I need you to promise you will."_

 _"Only if you promise she never knows," he replied._

 _"I won't tell her."_

 _He nodded. "I'm going to have a daughter."_

 _"I'm going to call her Rose, after your mother's garden," Hermione told him, casting their minds back to a long, hot summer they spent there, shaded from the world by the tall Victorian walls. "No matter what happened between us since then, or what's yet to happen, we need to remember she was made in love."_

* * *

They apparated away just as the bomb began to explode. It was in the heart of muggle London, of course, but what the muggles didn't know was that it was also the heart of Magical London, right outside of the one and only Ministry of Magic. Most of them would be safe, of course, but not all. The scene faded before the shrapnel hit them, and Rose looked around a once-familiar park.

"You're Draco Malfoy," she told the man with long brown hair and a short nose. He said nothing as he looked at the swing set.

"You're my dad," she added.

"You were never supposed to know. But I couldn't keep away." He turned to her with tears in his eyes, knowing that this admission changed everything.

"Who planted the bomb?" she asked.

"Neo-Death Eaters. I have contacts," he told her. "I couldn't stop it, but I tried."

She thought about it, considering everything. It all seemed to make sense to her, in the most complicated of ways.

Eventually, she smiled. "I'm glad I turned Scor down when he asked me on a date," she commented.


End file.
